SULLIVAN: Durfee hoops ends 10-year drought against Brockton

Durfee not only showed some guts but also ended a prolonged drought with its 73-69 basketball win at Brockton on Saturday afternoon.

Coming off a home drubbing at the hands of New Bedford eight days earlier, a game where almost nothing went right, the Hilltoppers on Saturday got 22 points from freshman Nick Salmon and 19 from Chris Farrington in beating the Boxers for the first time in 10 years. Coach Jameson Guimond did his history work for that drought stat using Manny Papoula's increasingly valuable (inching toward indispensable) Durfee basketball history packet. The Toppers ended the notable drought without top scorer Tyree Robinson, who served the second half of his two-game suspension.

Brockton is 2-5, 0-2 Big 3.

• Hammerin' Hank Steinbrenner and the Yankees certainly made big news when they shelled out somewhere around $50 trillion for Japanese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who posted a 24-0 record and 1.27 ERA in Japan last season.

As an old-time pro wrestling fan — for me, old-time means back to the 1970s — I think I have some insight into what allows Tanaka to render batters so ineffective, even seemingly blind at times.

Consider this hypothesis: In the process of delivering a pitch, Tanaka (known to his closest friends as Professor) is somehow able to throw salt into a batter's eyes. That would even make Teddy Ballgame a sub-.100 hitter.

And keep watch for another Yankees' Japanese signing. My sources tell me New York has its eyes on Tanaka's longtime catcher and friend, a devious gentleman from Osaka by the name of Fuji.

• Bert "The Cat" Williams, goalkeeper for the England national soccer team that suffered a stunning 1-0 loss to the United States in the 1950 World Cup, died on Jan. 19. He was 93. That U.S. team included Fall River legends Clarkie Souza and Ed Souza. Based on reports, Williams was the Bill Buckner of English soccer, never able to live down allowing the lone goal in that loss that shocked the soccer world.

• Still shaken from the recent same-day loss of the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Reuben Kincaid (Dave Madden). While I always liked the Professor's character, I really grew to appreciate his humor as time went on. As I got older, I went from liking Gilligan's slapstick humor best to realizing the Professor and Mr. Howell (Jim Backus) had the most clever lines. In interviews, Johnson had said his favorite episodes were the ones where Gilligan or the other castaways had a dream, with the regulars getting to play fun, oddball roles. The Professor, I recall, played a great over-the-top Sherlock Holmes in one of Gilligan's dreams.

And Reuben Kincaid goes into the TV dry humor hall of fame. My favorite Reuben line came when, after a typically annoying remark from Danny Partridge at the house, Reuben calmly went right up to Danny and said softly but firmly, "Go away."

• It is notable that Bishop Connolly was without 6-foot-5 center Konrad Bradbury in its recent one-sided loss to Dartmouth. Connolly coach Matt Coute absolutely did not even hint at that as an excuse.

• What camp are you in? When facing someone who has something on, for example, his right cheek, I make the wipeoff gesture on my left cheek. This is the mirror approach. Others annoy me by claiming the proper way to signal would be to wipe your right cheek.

• The local high school basketball player with the highest arc on his shot has to be Bishop Connolly's Brian Quinn. The senior gets under his shot as few do and launches it into the rafters. So high is his shot that it allows fans in the gym time to discuss the shot as it makes its way to the basket. The dialogue might go something like this: